quinn



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. W. QUINN. PNEUMATIC STAOKBR.

Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

G. W; QUINN. PNEUMATIC STAGKER.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Patented Dec. 8,1897.

No'Model.) 4 S'heetsSheet 3.

G. W. QUINN. PNEUMATIC STAUKER.

Pia-596,307, Patented Dec. 28,1897.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4. G. W. QUINN. PNEUMATIC S (No Model.)

TAOKER.

No. 596,307. Patented Dec. 28, 1897.

ient construction for these purposes.

NITED rrrcn.

ATENT GEORGE WV. QUINN, OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE HARBER BROTHERS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

PNEUMATIC STACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,307, dated December 28, 1897.

Application filed October 4, 1897.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. QUINN, of Bloomington, McLean county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Pneumatic Stackers, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to pneumatic stackers, and more particularly to a stacker of this type for use in-conj unction with a corn-sheller, and has for its object toprovide a mechanism whereby the cobs and the chaff may be received as they come from the sheller and be conveyed away from the sheller and be separately discharged at different points.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features which I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mechanism embodying my invention, a portion of the sheller to which it is connected being shown. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fan, its casing, and the adjacent portion of the stacker-tube. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view takenon the line 5 5 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation, partly in section, of the upper or free end of the stackertube. Fig. 7 is an end view, partly broken away, of the upper or free end of the stacker-tube.

In the said drawings, 10 represents the cornsheller, having the cob-discharge 11 and chaffdischarge 12 adjacent to each other. A suitably-driven shaft 13 of said sheller is provided with a pulley 14-, around which passes a belt 14, which also passes around a pulley 15 on a shaft 16, supported in bearings 17 from a suitable portion of the sheller-frame. The shaft 16 may of course be actuated and supported in any suitable manner from the sheller, the construction shown illustrating a conven- The shaft 16 is arranged horizontally and transversely of the sheller at a point adjacent to the cob and chaff discharges of the latter and preferably somewhat below the same, as indicated in Fig. 1. Mounted loosely on the shaft Serial No. 654,019. (No model.)

16 are bracket-arms 18, the ends of which are secured to and support the fan-casing 19. This latter may be of any suitable construction, that shown comprising an upper head 20, a lower head 21, and a cylindrical body portion 22, clamped between the heads 20 and 21 by means of bolts 23 and seated against annular ribs 24 on said heads. The upper head 20 has a central inlet-aperture 25 to receive the cobs and chaff, and the lower head 21 has a central air-inlet aperture or apertures 26, controlled by a valve or damper 27. The fan-shaft 28 is mounted in the lower head 21 of the fan-casing and a bearing-yoke 29, supported therefrom,and is provided with a bevelpinion 30, which meshes with a bevel-gear 31 on the shaft 16, by which means the fan-shaft and fan are driven. The fan proper comprises a central hub 32 and arms 33,0arrying a diaphragm or partition 34, which divides the fan and its casing into two chambersan upper one 35 and a lower one 36. The fanarms are provided above the diaphragm 34 with blades or vanes 37, operating in the upper chamber, and below said diaphragm said arms are provided with blades or vanes 38, operating in the lower chamber of the fancasing.

The fan-casing 19 has -a lateral outlet 39, which opens into the stacker-tube 40. This tube is provided with an internal diaphragm or partition 41, which is in the same plane as the diaphragmv 34 of the fan-casin g and which divides the tube into two compartments or conduits-an upper one 42 for the cobs and chaff and a lower one 43 for the air-blast.

The diaphragm 41 is preferably placed somewhat below the aXis of the tube, so that the air-blast conduit is of smaller dimensions in cross-section than the cob and chaff conduit.

At or near its free or upper end the tube is provided, preferably in its under side, with a lateral discharge-opening 44, at which point the diaphragm 41 terminates, and there is provided an inclined deflecting-plate at this point, which contracts the air-conduit 43 and forms a nozzle whereby the air-blast from said conduit will be impelled across the discharge-opening 44 with considerable force. At this point the stacker-tube is also provided with a cob-deflector consisting, preferably, of a plurality of fingers 46, secured to the upper side of the interior of the tube and extending outward and downward across the end of the tube, so as to prevent the cobs from passing out at the end of the tube and so as to cause them to be deflected downward to and through the discharge-aperture M. In order to provide for the adjustment of the cob-deflector to suit the varying conditions under which the apparatus may be used, the fingers a6 are supported from a shaft eL/,wl1ich may be rocked to vary the angle of the defleetor and which may be secured after ad justment by means of the clamping-nut -18 on the bolt 49 passing through a slot 50 in an external arm 51 on the shaft 47 or by other suitable means. The position of the deflector relatively to the discharge-openin g at and the end of the tube may also be regulated by means of an adjustable connection between the shaft 47 and the fingers 46, whereby the deflector may be lengthened, and this is effected in the construction shown by providing said shaft with radial arms 52, each finger having an annulus or collar 53, fitting over and adjustable on the corresponding arm 52 and secured thereon after adjustment by a set-screw 54; or in any other suitable manner.

The stacker-tube has connected to its free end, by means of a band 55, a dust bag or chute 56, which receives the chaff and dust and which may be employed to convey the same to a dust-chamber or other suitable point of discharge.

The stacker-tube 40 is preferably cylindrical as to its body portion, tapering to a square section at each end, this structure at the inner end facilitating the connection of the tube with the fan-casing, while at the discharge end it increases the width of the airblast conduit at its nozzle end, where it is vertically contracted, and makes it of the same width as the cob and chaff conduit and the discharge-openin g.

The stacker-tube and fan are supported and simultaneously adjusted around the shaft 16 as a center by means of a rope, chain, or other flexible connection 57, extending from the tube to a winch or Windlass 5S,suitably mounted on the sheller.

In order to properly guide the cobs and chaff to the receiving-opening 25 of the fan, I employ flexible aprons 59 and 60. The apron 59 extends from above the cob-discharge to the upper or outer margin of the receiving-opening, and is preferably constructed of rigid sections or slats flexibly connected, while the apron 60 extends from below the chaff-discharge to the lower or inner margin of the receiving-opening, and may be constructed of some flexible fabric, as shown.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The stacker-tube and fan having been adj nsted to the desired position the cobs, chaff, and dust from the sheller are guided by the aprons 59 and 60 to the receiving-opening 25 in the upper side of the fan-casin g and are drawn or fall into the upper chamber 35 thereof, from which they are forcibly driven or blown by the blades or vanes 37 of the fan into and through the upper conduit t2 of the stackertube. As the fan rotates air is drawn into the lower chamber 36 of the fan-casing through the aperture or apertures 20 therein, the amount of air admitted, and consequently the force of the air-blast, bcin g regulated and controlled by the valve or damper 27. This air is forcibly expelled from the chamber 36 by the blades or vanes 38 of the fan into the lower conduit 43 of the stacker-tube, and will issue with considerable force from the contracted outlet or nozzle thereof, being projected across the discharge-opening 44-. As the cobs reach the end of the stacker-tube they will be deflected downward to and through the outlet 4 by means of the deflector, their weight and size precluding their being carried through or between the deflector fingers. The dust and lighter and smaller chaff are, however, carried through the deflector between the fingers thereof by the air-blast issuing from the conduit 4:2. The heavier and larger chaff, the silk, and such matter other than the cobs which do not pass through the deflector pass down thereby to the lower end of the deflector, where they encounter the strong air-blast from the nozzle of the conduit 43 and are carried thereby across the discharge-opening it below the deflector and out of the end of the stacker-tube into the dust bag or chute along with the dust and fine chaff. The cobs and chaff are thus effectually separated and discharged at different points. The various hereinbefore-described adjustments of the mechanism will be readily understood in connection with the foregoing descriptibn, and therefore require no further detailed explanation here.

It is obvious that various structural modifications in the details of my invention may be made without departing from the principle thereof. For instance, although I have devised and for obvious reasons generally prefer the construction shown, in which a single tube, case, and fan are employed divided into two conduits and chambers and provided with two sets of fan blades or vanes, it is obvious that separate and distinct tubes, casings, and fans may be employed and so arranged and located relatively to each other as to accomplish the same general results in substantially the same manner as in the strncture shown, and such a modified construction may, under certain circumstances, be deemed desirable. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise details of construction hereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings.

I claim- 1. A pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, comprising a fan-casing to receive the cobs and chaff, a fan therein, a stacker-tube open at both ends, one end of said tube communicatin g with the interior of the casin g and said eating with the interior of the casing, and the tube being provided at or near its other end with a lateral cob-discharge opening, and a deflector adapted to guide the cobs to said cob-discharge opening and permit the passage of the chaff, substantially as described.

2. A pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, comprising a fan-casing to receive the cobs and chaff, a fan therein, a stacker-tube communicating at one of its ends with the interior of the casing and having a cob-discharge opening in a direction divergent from the axis of the tube,- and a separate discharge-opening for the chaff, and a deflector adapted to guide the cobs to said cob-discharge opening and permit the passage of the chaff, substantially as described.

3. A pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, comprising a fan-casing to receive the cobs and chaff, a fan therein, a stacker-tube open at both ends, one end of said tube communiother end being provided with a cob-discharge opening in its under side, and a deflector extending from the upper side of said tube downward toward the cob-discharge opening and adapted to guide the cobs to said opening and to permit the passage of the chaff, substantially as described.

4. A pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, comprising a fan-casing to receive the cobs and chaff, a fan therein, a stacker-tube communicating at one of its ends with the interior of the casing and being provided at or near its other end with a lateral cob-discharge opening and a separate chaff-discharge opening, a deflector adapted to guide the cobs to said cob-discharge opening and permit the passage of the chaff, an air-conduit terminating adjacent to the cob-discharge opening and arranged to direct its blast across the same toward the chaff-discharge opening, and means for forcing a current of air through said air-conduit, substantially as described.

5. A pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers comprising a fan-casing having a cob and chaff receiving chamber'and an air-chamber, a fan therein having blades or vanes in each chamber, and a stacker-tube having a dia-' phragm or partition whereby it is divided into a cob and chaff conduit, and an air-conduit communicating with the respective chambers of the fan-casing, said tube having a lateral cob-discharge opening adjacent to the end of the air-conduit, and a deflector adapted to guide the cobs to said opening and permit the passage of the chaff, substantially as de scribed.

6. In a pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, the combination, with a stacker-tube having a diaphragm or partition whereby it is divided into a cob and chaff conduit and an airconduit, said tube being provided with a lateral cob-discharge opening and with a separate chaff-discharge opening, of an inclined diaphragm at the mouth of the air-conduit for contracting the outlet thereof, a cob-deflector adjacent to said cob-discharge opening, and a fan to force the cobs and chaff and air through the respective conduits, substantially as described.

7. In a pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, the combination, with a suitable fan, of a stacker-tube having a lateral cob-discharge opening, and a separate chaff-discharge opening and a deflector comprising a plurality of curved fingers adapted to guide the cobs to their discharge-opening and permit the chaff to pass, substantially as described.

8. In a pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, the combination, with a suitable fan, of a stacker-tube having a lateral cob-discharge opening, and a separate chaff-discharge opening and a deflector adjustable at varying angles to the axis of the tube and adapted to guide the cobs to their discharge-opening and permit the passage of the chaff, substantially as described.

9. In a pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, the combination, with a suitable fan, of a stacker-tube having a lateral cob-discharge opening, and a separate chaff-discharge opening and a deflector adjustable as to its length and as to its angle to the axis of the tube, and adapted to guide the cobs to their dischargeopening and permit the passage of the chaff, substantially as described.

10. In a pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, the combination, with a stacker-tube having a lateral cob-discharge opening and a separate chaff-discharge opening, of a transverse shaft having radial arms, deflector-fingers adjustable on said arms, and means for adjusting said shaft to vary the angle of the fingers, substantially as described.

11. In a pneumatic stacker for corn-shellers, the combination, with the stacker-tube having cob and chaff and air conduits, and the fan and fan-casin g having separate chambers for the cobs and chaff and for the air, and

inlet-openings for said chambers, of .a valve or damper for controlling the inlet of the airchamber, substantially as described.

12. In a pneumatic stacker, the combination, with a horizontal shaft from which the fan is driven, of a fan-casing pivotally mounted on and adjustable around said shaft, a fan in said casing connected with said shaft by suitable gearing, and a stacker-tube fixed to and adjustable with the fan-casing, substantially as described.

' 13. A pneumatic stacker, for corn-shellers, comprising a fan-casing to receive the cobs and chaff, a stacker-tube communicating at one of its ends with the interior of the fan casing and being provided at or near its other end with a lateral cob-discharge opening and a separate chaff-discharge opening beyond the same, a deflector adaptedto guide the cobs to said cob-discharge opening and permit the passage of the lighter and finer chaff, said deflector terminating some distance inward from the cob-discharge opening, an air conduit terminating adjacent to the cob-discharge opening and arranged to direct its blast across the IIO IO rate chad-discharge opening, a deflector terininating some distance above said cob-discharge opening and adapted to guide the eobs to said opening and permit the passage of the dust and finer chaff, and means for causing an air-blast through said conduits, substan- 15 tiail'y as described.

GEORGE W. QUINN. XVitnesses:

WILLIAM H. CUTTING, WALTER O. BRUBAKER. 

